NEPAL | Indian prime minister aims to bolster ties 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, waves to the media as he comes out after a meeting with his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala, at the prime minister’s office in Katmandu

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Nepal yesterday to meet top leaders, offer prayers at a revered Hindu temple and address the parliament.
Modi’s visit is significant because India has a major influence over both the economy and politics in the much smaller Himalayan nation, and supplies all of Nepal’s oil needs and much of its trade.
Indian and Nepalese officials were meeting later yesterday in Katmandu where agreements are expected to be signed. Modi is also scheduled to address the parliament.
Modi will also visit the Pashupatinath, a Hindu god Shiva temple, to offer special prayers today.
Nepalese officials are hopeful India will agree to provide the energy-starved neighbor with electricity and help build hydroelectric power plants. The countries are finalizing the agreement but details are still being worked out.
Under the agreement, India would export electricity to Nepal and help build hydroelectric power plants. Nepal has suffered from major power shortages with consumers facing power cuts up to 12 hours daily because the power plants are able to meet only half the total demand.
Nepal’s communist insurgency, which lasted until 2006, and ensuing political instability have hampered the construction of new power plants, and Nepal could not afford to map out an energy strategy on its own.
Modi returns home today. AP